Portrait of Sakura as a young girl
by UnCuteRi-Chan1
Summary: An art assignment causes Syaoran much grief, very sappy...not too much plot, one shot.


Hello to anyone foolish...*cough* I mean kind enough to read my little fic...It's just a little vignette, fits right in with the cannon pretty much, just one of the many things that bounces around in my brain...Without further ado...let the fluff begin.  
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The warm wash of sunlight played across Sakura's sleeping features as she peacefully slumbered through the blaring ring of her alarm clock. Eventually, roused enough to get aggravated by the constant ringing of the alarm, and unable to drown it out by clamping his miniscule pillow over his oversized head, Kero groggily flitted across the room to awaken the dozing card mistress...politely. "SAKURA...WAKE UP!!!!!!!!!!!!"  
  
"N-n-nani!! Hoe!!!!!! Ahhhh I'm late again...why didn't you wake me up Kero??"   
Sakura dashed about her room in last minute effort to get ready and to school on time.   
Tugging her shirt down over her head and making sure to grab her bag, she left the house, roller blades on and toast dangling from her mouth and sped towards her destination; Tomoeda Elementary.  
  
After hurriedly shedding her outerwear and changing her shoes, she snuck into class just as the bell rang, whispering good mornings to her friends.   
  
As an ongoing class art project, Terada sensei had been giving the class opportunities to draw objects and people on class trips, some of the class was enjoying the chance to improve their drawing...but many students were having a lot of difficulty 'capturing' their subjects.  
  
Terada Sensei announced that as the last project of the 'life drawing' unit special attention would be paid to a single individual. "Class, so that you can focus on our subjects without distraction you will draw one of your classmates today. Everyone find a partner please!"  
  
Before Sakura could even glance at Tomoyo to secure her as a partner, Eriol jumped up and asked Sakura to do the honour of being his partner. Sakura nearly nodded before a flabbergasted Syaoran jumped up quickly, turning red, and jostling her desk. Eriol grinned mischievously at Syaoran before saying to Tomoyo, "Well it seems that Sakura is spoken for...will we work together instead?" Syaoran's rage suddenly changed into a deep blush as he realized what Eriol had implied, but he sighed a silent breath of relief as he glanced at Sakura's puzzled face. Luckily, Sakura never seemed to grasp subtleties of this sort.  
  
Sakura and Syaoran pulled their chairs to a vacant place near the window and looked at each other for a moment before Sakura asked whether she should pose first or he. Syaoran gruffly mumbled that she might as well draw first and sat staring fixedly at Sakura's shoulder focusing on anything he could think of so long as it wasn't the pretty card mistress in front of him.  
  
Biting her bottom lip, to make sure that she focused all of her attention on her drawing, Sakura began sketching. She wasn't very good at drawing, she had drawn Kero in the past, and he hadn't been overly happy with the results. Sakura hoped Syaoran wouldn't be too upset at how shakily her attempts at drawing turned out. After the allotted ten minutes Sakura placed her pencil on her drawing board only to watch it roll out of her grasp and onto the floor. As she reached down to retrieve it she heard a thud and felt a sharp pain on her forehead. "Owww!"   
Syaoran, violently red from embarrassment, handed Sakura her pencil silently. After a moment to regain his composure he looked up and asked, "Daijobu ka?" Sakura nodded, and they both apologized simultaneously. At this hasty double 'gomen nasai" Tomoyo looked up quickly and tried in vain to stifle a giggle accompanied by her customary exclamation of cuteness. When she failed, she received a glare from Syaoran and a shy smile from Sakura.   
  
Syaoran, never one to consider himself an artist, had always had particular trouble drawing people; they just never managed to end up looking even remotely human. But, determined firstly, to do well in art class, and secondly, not to mar Sakura's beauty, he bit his tongue, squinted one eye and set to work. After much erasing and a few new sheets of paper, Syaoran, while not completely satisfied, was much more comfortable with his attempt. He focused keenly on the face he had long since memorized and surprisingly her features began to fall into place on the paper. Once he was finished his rendering he began to doodle around his drawing, not at all shocked to find that he was absently drawing sakura blossoms around her, he quickly hid the page before Tomoyo or Eriol could spy it.  
  
At the end of the class Terada sensei collected all of the works to be graded and told the students that this afternoon he would select some pieces to put on display for an upcoming art fair.   
  
Believing his work didn't stand a chance; Syaoran ate his lunch and relaxed. When he returned to the classroom to find the identically evil grins of Tomoyo and Eriol and heard   
Tomoyo's fateful 'ho ho ho' he knew that he had not managed to keep his work hidden.   
Later that afternoon, when Terada sensei congratulated Syaoran on his marked art improvement, Syaoran began to worry in earnest and could barely manage a trace of a smile in reply.   
  
Dragged by her camcorder-toting friend, Sakura saw her portrait later that day after classes had finished. Tomoyo watched a slight blush appear and just as quickly fade from her friends face. She commented "Wow! He must have really been working on his drawing technique he shows so much talent!" and quickly went to find Syaoran to congratulate him on his creation.  
  
"Ano...Syaoran kun, your picture was quite beautiful, and it more than did justice to me, it just shows how beautiful your heart is! Thank you for drawing me!" Syaoran mumbled something about flukes, accidents and his personal theory of chaos before abruptly heading home. Aggravatingly (for Syaoran) he could not seem to wipe the dopey grin off of his face.  
  
O-wa-ri ^_~ 


End file.
